1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a medical image filing system, more specifically to a medical image filing system which has some characteristics in the reading part of recorded image data.
2. Prior Art
In recent years, a video-endoscope equipped with a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) at its distal end as an image-capture means has become popular instead of a fiberscope which observes a body cavity, using an image guide formed by optical fibers.
Therefore, a medium to record a photographed or electronically captured endoscopic image of a body cavity has been changing from an analog-recording medium to digital recording media, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical (MO) disk.
In a conventional recording and reproducing system or image filing system for endoscopic image data, an image input means consisting of a video-endoscope, etc. captures and compresses an endoscopic image, and then an image recording means such as a hard disk records it. Also, a recording means with sufficiently large capacity, comparing to a hard disk, has been proposed. For example, an image filing system consisting of an auto-changer type MO recording means with several MO disks which automatically changes to another MO disk when one MO disk becomes full.
In the conventional image filing systems mentioned above, when performing endoscopic examination, generally, patient data such as a patient ID, name, birth date, and sex, is input into a video-endoscope by using a keyboard, etc. The input patient data and patient endoscopic images are compressed and recorded in the above image recording means or large-capacity image recording means via a Local Area Network (hereafter LAN), etc.
Also, after the examination, by using an image search means, it is possible to search some patient data such as a certain patient""s past endoscopic images from an image recording means, for example, to observe the change of a lesion. This leads to efficient diagnosis and treatment.
As shown in FIG. 20(a), an image filing system of the prior art is shown. The image filing system is equipped with an image recording means or a large-capacity image recording means which records, an identical compressed endoscopic image In in both the image recording means 101 and a large-capacity image recording means 102, respectively. In the figure, the most current or newest image is designated with the highest number. The image recording means 101 is accessed by the image search means (image retrieval device) 103 to search and reproduce desired image data.
However, a problem occurs in the above process. As the recording capacity of the image recording means 101 is small in comparison with the large-capacity image recording means 102, image recording means 101 can record fewer image data than the large-capacity image recording means 102 can. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20(b), in the image recording means 101, when the recording area for new image data becomes full, new image data are written over the oldest image data. In other words, the oldest image data is erased to record the newest image data. On the other hand, in the large-capacity image recording means 102, since a recording area is sufficiently secured, image data can be recorded (added to the old data). Furthermore, the image recording means 102 is accessed by the image search means 103 to search and reproduce desired image data.
The data access speed for a MO recording means consisting of the large-capacity image recording means 102 is slow in comparison with the data access speed of the hard disk device consisting of the image recording means 101. Therefore, when the newest image data are recorded by writing over the oldest data, and old endoscopic images are searched, data in the large-capacity image recording means 102 need to be searched. Because, old data remains only in the large-capacity image recording means 102. Accordingly, searching data in the large-capacity image recording means 102 takes a long time.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a medical image filing system which reduces time to search and reproduce image data stored in a large-capacity image recording device.
Accordingly, a medical image filing system is provided. The medical image filing system of the present invention comprises: a first recording device for recording a plurality of image data from a medical image pickup means; a second recording device for recording said plurality of image data from the medical image pickup means, the second recording device having a recording speed slower and a recording capacity greater than that of the first recording device; and at least one image reproducing device for reading and reproducing designated image data from the plurality of image data recorded in the first and second recording devices. The at least one image reproducing device having a third recording device for recording the designated image data. Wherein the designated image data recorded in the third recording device can also be reproduced by the at least one reproducing device. The at least one reproducing device further having designating means to designate the image data recorded in the second recording device and designate either of the first or third recording devices to copy the designated image data from the second recording device to the designated first or third recording devices.
Also provided is a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium for reproducing a plurality of image data in a medical image filing system. The medical image filing system having first and second recording devices for recording the plurality of image data from a medical image pickup means. The second recording device having a recording speed slower and a recording capacity greater than that of the first recording device. The computer program product comprising: computer readable program code means for designating at least one image data from the plurality of image data recorded in the second recording device; computer readable program code means for designating either of the first or a third recording device of an image reproducing device for copying of the at least one designated image data from the second recording device to the designated first or third recording device; and computer readable program code means for copying the at least one designated image data from the second recording device to the designated first or third recording device.
In a preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention, a plurality of image reproducing devices is provided which are connected to each other by a network means, such as a Local Area Network (LAN).
In another preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention, the copying of the designated image data from the second recording device to the designated first or third recording device can be delayed when there exists a simultaneous copying of any of the plurality of image data from the second recording device to either the first or third recording devices.
In another preferred implementation of the system and software product, of the present invention the copying of the designated image data from the second recording device to the designated first or third recording device can be restarted after the simultaneous copying of any of the plurality of image data from the second recording device to either the first or third recording devices is completed. The restarting means can comprise a manual indication to the image reproducing device or an automatic indication to the image reproducing device after a lapse of a preset time.
In another preferred implementation of the system and software product, of the present invention a day and time to copy the designated image data in the second recording device to the designated first or third recording device can be designated in advance of the time that the designated image data will be used.
In another preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention, where the system or method comprises a plurality of image reproducing devices and where a designated image is designated to be simultaneously copied to more than one of the third recording devices, the copying of the designated image data from the second recording device to all but one of the third recording devices can be stopped and restarted after the copying to the one third recording device is completed. The restarting means can comprises a manual indication to the image reproducing device or an automatic indication to the image reproducing device after a lapse of a preset time.
In another preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention, a day and a time when copying is to be performed can be designated by a user.
In yet another preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention, when the image data is designated to be used on a certain day, the copying is performed on a previous day.
In still yet another preferred implementation of the system and software product of the present invention wherein there are a plurality of image reproducing devices, the designation of the same image data to be copied during the same time to the same of the first or third recording devices can be prohibited to avoid conflicts.
The medical image filing system in this invention can make it possible to reduce the time to search and reproduce image data stored in the second large-capacity recording device, as follows. The image reproducing device can reproduce the image data mentioned above recorded in the third recording device. Appoint the image data recorded in the second recording device, and copy them to either the first recording device or the third recording device, which a user can designate. In this way, by accessing the second recording device, and copying and storing the desired image data searched from the second recording device to and in the third recording device, it is possible to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art.